Gassco Norway, which transports gas from the North Sea throughout Europe, is deploying a Dimetra IP Micro TETRA network to provide robust and reliable communications between operators and maintenance staff at its plants in northern Germany. 

ATEX-approved MTP850Ex terminals with a ‘man down’ feature and SafeMobile’s real-time GPS tracking solution will enable workers to keep in contact throughout the plants. Gassco needed to expand its existing analogue two-way radio system so that it was able to precisely locate personnel and improve safety by automatically alerting the operations centre should a member of staff be injured and unable to respond. 

Gassco also needed more communication channels to cover operators inside and outside its plants as well as for the more efficient co-ordination of different maintenance teams. The system proposed by Motorola distribution partner AIRadio Deutschland and local reseller FSN Neermoor will allow Gassco to move to a digital radio network that will provide business-critical voice communications and short data services simultaneously. 

Two lightweight MTS2 TETRA base stations have been installed to provide excellent receiver sensitivity for optimum radio coverage while their compact size lowered installation costs. The systems at Emden and Dornum are connected via a local area network to a central switch which enables the operation centres at both locations to control each site. A TBG825 dispatcher desktop solution from Carls facilitates the remote control of the radio terminals. An integrated ‘man down’ feature which activates an emergency alert based on motion detection and incline angle threshold settings provides additional protection for staff.